Exercise keeps getting harder.
If the same walk, climb, or workout is leaving you more winded than it used to, that's a measurable change in how your body uses oxygen and produces force. Declining capacity is common — and far more reversible than most people are told, once you know what's driving it.
Capacity is trainable at any age
Two systems determine how exercise feels: your cardiorespiratory fitness (how well you take in and use oxygen) and your muscle (how much force you can produce and sustain). Both decline with inactivity, illness, or aging — and both respond to the right training stimulus, often quickly.
What we measure
- VO₂ and ventilatory thresholds via cardiopulmonary exercise testing — the gold standard for fitness.
- Muscle mass and symmetry via DEXA, to catch quiet muscle loss.
- Recovery and metabolic flexibility — how well your body switches between burning fat and carbohydrate.
From measurement to a real prescription
Knowing your thresholds lets us prescribe exercise precisely — the right intensity in the right zones — instead of guessing. That's the difference between training that compounds and training that exhausts. Learn more about Zone 2 training.
How Levitas approaches declining capacity
We measure your fitness and muscle directly, then write an exercise prescription matched to your actual physiology. You stop guessing at intensity, and we re-test to prove the plan is working.
Frequently asked
Is declining fitness just normal aging?
What does VO₂ max actually tell me?
Do I need testing, or can I just exercise more?
One interconnected picture
Understand what is limiting you.
Not all services are available yet. Telehealth appointments begin December 2026. Please contact our office at 952-800-3363 or info@northstar-mpc.com for additional information regarding eligibility and availability. In-person appointments and diagnostic testing are planned to begin in January 2027 at our Edina clinic.